Joe Bozeman: A Framework for Equity in Energy and Environmental Engineering

Check out the Daily Digest‘s write up about CEE’s Joe Bozeman!

Researchers create process to integrate systemic equity to allow for more consistent and inclusive modeling.

By: Jason Maderer (maderer@gatech.edu)

Monday, 16 May 2022

As diversity, equity, and inclusion continue to be among the nation’s most important focus areas, a Georgia Tech researcher has created a framework to help his peers utilize more equitable data in their energy and environmental engineering studies.

One of Joe Bozeman’s core research areas is America’s food consumption habits and how they affect climate change, specifically greenhouse gas emissions. The assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering looks at food intake across a number of groups, including socioeconomic status, race, and age. Using that data, he’s able to create models that better inform communities and assist policy makers.

However, the most consistent, thorough data he uses to develop those models are from 2005-2010. Five-year datasets before and after that timeframe aren’t standardized, as all sociodemographic groups are not included. This makes it difficult for Bozeman to draw comparisons that are inclusive of everyone across spatial scales and time periods.

Joe Bozeman

“If we are not able to manage social and infrastructure dynamics within our country in an equitable way, not only will currently marginalized groups be negatively affected now, but so will marginalized groups of the future.”

-Joe Bozeman

It’s one reason why he and researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Colorado Denver have published a framework and 10-step process to help engineers, scientists, and community members standardize their data related to energy and environmental topics. Their goal is to integrate equity into these fields, a practice Bozeman and his colleagues call systemic equity. By doing so, they hope to create a system that all demographics of groups are included, including age groups, income levels, race, and ethnicity.

The framework and process are outlined in a new paper, published by the journal Environmental Engineering Science.

“This is to help stabilize our sociopolitical systems, as well as those within civil and environmental engineering,” said Bozeman, who also has a courtesy appointment in the School of Public Policy in Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. “If we are not able to manage social and infrastructure dynamics within our country in an equitable way, not only will currently marginalized groups be negatively affected now, but so will marginalized groups of the future.”

Destenie Nock, Carnegie Mellon

Systemic equity, the researchers say, requires the simultaneous and effective administration of three areas: resources, policy, and addressing the cultural needs of systematically marginalized groups. Their framework also provides three categories that represent what happens when equity is only partially met:

Ostensible equity: when resource and policy needs are met, but cultural needs are inadequate.
Aspirational equity: when policy and cultural needs are met, but resources are inadequate.
Exploitational equity: when resource and cultural needs are met, but policies are not.

“We wanted to provide common language and a shared understanding for when equity is ineffectively administered,” said Destenie Nock, an assistant professor of engineering and public policy and civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon. “Using consistent terms will allow researchers in our field to communicate with groups that include academia, practitioners, and community leaders.”

The group’s 10-step process for standardizing sociodemographic data practices is intended to address development, collection, and reporting norms. The team hopes the list will also facilitate systemic equity within energy and environmental life cycle assessment and decision-making.

The steps include identifying and confirming equity-focused energy and environmental professionals and collaborative transdisciplinary professionals, in addition to creating a preliminary, systemic equity checklist and criteria for sociodemographic data practices. A number of the steps are already in progress.

Erin Nobler, Univ. of Colorado Denver

What Comes Next

Now that the paper is published, the group wants to share the systemic equity framework and begin developing the checklist at conferences and within workgroups to spread the word and further define the processes.

While the energy and environmental fields lack such a process, it does exist elsewhere within research activities. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) has existed for more than a decade with the intent on improving how highly influential reviews of medical and health research are reported. PRISMA has grown from 27 checklist items in 2009 to 42 in 2020 and is endorsed by several top journals in the medical field.

This research team has similar goals.

“To be effective at each step requires committed and persistent stakeholders from various disciplines and geographic regions,” said co-author Erin Nobler, a Ph.D. student at the Univ. of Colorado Denver. “It also requires the kind of support that satisfies each equity concept and an alignment with the multistakeholder partnership provisions in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.”

Another Step in the Process

For Bozeman, the paper is part of his career journey, which began after seeing the beating of Rodney King at a young age. After watching footage of the unarmed Black man being beaten by Los Angeles police officers, Bozeman’s early questions were less about why it was happening and more about which systems were in place that would allow such an incident to occur. Bozeman’s passion led him to engineering, grad school, and a focus on climate change. Then came another question: why is there very little research about energy burden and equity around energy and environmental access?

“We have so many tools — big data, machine learning, and life cycle assessment — that are not being used to help our society become more equitable, despite George Floyd, diversity statements, and calls for equity in grant proposals,” Bozeman said. “If we’re actually going to try and do this, let’s have a framework for equity in engineering.

“This isn’t just about helping certain groups, such as Black, brown, Latinx, or poor white communities,” Bozeman said. “America’s demographics are changing wildly, so who is minoritized and systemically marginalized today might not be the same in the future. This framework can help everyone, if we refine it over time.”

CITATION: Bozeman, et. al. “A Path Toward Systemic Equity in Life Cycle Assessment and Decision-Making: Standardizing Sociodemographic Data Practices.” Environmental Engineering Science, 6 April 2022. https://doi.org/10.1089/ees.2021.0375

New Strategic Plan for DEI

New Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Provides Roadmap to a More Inclusive Georgia Tech

With the launch of its first ever strategic plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Georgia Tech is carving a path towards a more inclusive campus community.

Apr 4, 2022 | Atlanta, GA

Georgia Tech recently launched its first Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that outlines the steps the Institute will take to position itself as a leader in inclusive excellence.

It will serve as a framework that guides Institute, college, and unit leadership in the work needed to become a more equitable and inclusive campus community for all students, faculty, and staff.

The plan is the culmination of a two-year effort carried out by the Georgia Tech Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. Comprised of executive and senior leaders, the council is charged with monitoring the progress of diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus and is co-chaired by Archie W. Ervin, vice president for Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Pearl Alexander, executive director of Staff Diversity, Inclusion, and Engagement. Through a collaborative effort, the council developed a plan that outlines five areas of impact, three goals, and 22 strategies that Georgia Tech will use to create a more inclusive campus community.

“Forty percent of the 2030 Institute strategic plan outcomes center on diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Ervin said. “With such an emphasis on DEI efforts, creating a roadmap to guide our efforts is instrumental for success, and our success depends on the support and engagement of the entire Georgia Tech community.”

The DEI plan identifies 22 strategic actions, categorized into three areas of impact:

Creating a more equitable and inclusive community.
Recruiting, retaining, and developing a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff.
Supporting innovative and inclusive scholarship and teaching.

As part of the planning process, the council was able to revisit the definitions of diversity, equity, and inclusion previously held by the Institute, and updated them to reflect current understandings. The council also created new definitions for Georgia Tech’s principles of community, highlighting a commitment to inclusive teaching, leadership, scholarship and research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

“We are excited and grateful to share this plan, where each and every one of us has a role in making Georgia Tech a place where everyone can thrive, no matter who you are or where you come from,” Alexander said. “Ubuntu, a term that comes to mind as we unveil this plan, reminds us of all that our actions affect each other and society. We’ll be better and go farther together as we write this next chapter of who we will be.”

To view the plan in full, visit diversity.gatech.edu/deiplan.

Celebrating Women from Georgia Tech – Call For Suggestions

Celebrating the Women From Georgia Tech – Call for Suggestions

We are reaching out to you to help us celebrate and honor Women From Georgia Tech. As part of the 70th Anniversary of Women at Tech, we are building a living tribute near the new student center and an accompanying website. The project will open later this year and we want to consider including women from your department, club, staff, organization, etc. We are looking for women-identifying leaders, pioneers in their field, individuals that have been important mentors and/or community stewards throughout the history of Georgia Tech.

Please add your suggestions via this survey by March 3rd.

This is a joint effort between the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Georgia Tech Alumni Association and a Design Team including: obj (Architect), Signature Design (Interpretive Signage), Breedlove Land Planning (Landscape Architects), Anne M. Sullivan (Digital Media program, School of Literature, Media, and Communication) and Noura Howell (Digital Media program, School of Literature, Media, and Communication).

The information gathered from the survey will be used to support the Tribute and current/future recognition efforts. There will be opportunities in the future to contribute to this project.

For more information please contact the design team at obj@obj.works.

National Engineers Week: Equity-Centered Engineering (from Dean Beyah)

Dear College of Engineering Community:

Welcome to National Engineers Week, which was founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers and runs through Saturday. EWeek bridges two very important celebrations. February is Black History Month, and next Tuesday begins Women’s History Month. Each carries special meaning here on campus. This academic year marks 60 years since the first Black students enrolled at Georgia Tech. And 70 years ago, in 1952, Tech welcomed its first two women students.

Today and every day, I reflect on the role engineers play in our world. We are called to a higher purpose: to improve society by solving complex problems previously thought impossible. While the technological advancements made by humankind are unquestionably remarkable, there is also no question that many of them were developed by teams not representative of the target users. Engineering and technology have not benefitted groups equally.

Engineers, like many others, are complicit in designing systems that have harmed communities – specifically, women, communities of color, persons with disabilities, and the poor. For example, women are not as safe in car crashes as compared to men because crash test dummies were modeled after men. Facial recognition software continues to incorrectly recognize darker-skinned individuals due to algorithms that include racial bias.

It is always important to acknowledge our history and deficiencies, even when they fall short of our standards. An accurate depiction of the past is critical if we hope to change the future. I’m proud of our many faculty members who are already conducting impactful research that addresses inequities, including work in climate change adaptation and mitigation, public transit, sickle cell disease, and much more.

One way to improve humanity is to always ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of engineering. Research continually shows that diverse groups lead to increased innovation and collaboration. Teams of people with varying backgrounds and experiences create broader ideas, as they introduce new perspectives that lead to greater productivity and equitable solutions.

To ensure equity for all, a shift must occur within engineering education. Engineers are consistently taught to focus on traditional constraints such as safety, cost, size, and performance. This is no longer enough. We must be intentional in ensuring equity in our solutions to society’s problems. Adding this to the engineering equation requires us to modify the traditional understanding of our field, how it is taught, and the criticality of representation.

I’m not alone in this equity-centered thinking. Last year I joined my engineering dean colleagues from the Big 10+ (a list that includes MIT, Berkeley, Michigan, and Illinois) in submitting a letter to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) recommending that they add DEI requirements for accreditation of engineering programs.

Integrating DEI into our existing curriculum will allow us to develop the “Whole Engineer,” supplying our graduates with far more than exceptional technical skills. We must also continue to strengthen their skillsets in communications, leadership, and business, while instilling them with an equity-centered focus as they enter the workforce. Our corporate partners are demanding this mindset of their engineers. It is our responsibility to prepare them, and I credit the members of our faculty who have already started focusing on equity-centered education.

True to Georgia Tech’s interdisciplinary nature, a greater understanding of DEI can only be honed through increased exposure to appropriate concepts in fields such as humanities, social sciences, and history. Simply put, we cannot ignore the context in which our solutions reside.

To improve the human condition, we must use every available tool. Now, more than ever, an engineer must do more. An engineer must be more.

To aid in that effort, and as we celebrate National Engineers Week, I am pleased to announce that the College will soon launch a nationwide search for our first associate dean position focused on DEI. We expect to fill this important role by the end of this summer.

I hope that you are having a great semester. Thank you for everything you do to support the College of Engineering, Georgia Tech, and one another.

Sincerely,

Raheem

_____________________________Raheem Beyah (he/him/his)Dean and Southern Company ChairCollege of EngineeringGeorgia Tech

Meet the Black Founders of Scheller: Entrepreneur Kathryn Smith Drives Progress for Black- and Women-Owned Businesses

In honor of Black History Month, the Georgia Tech Scheller College is celebrating our Black student and alumni entrepreneurs. We sat down with MBA alum Kathryn Smith to learn about her background and experience starting two companies.

Being a founder of two companies is an extraordinary feat, especially when your second company is launched during a pandemic. But Georgia Tech Scheller Full-time MBA alum Kathryn Smith was ready for the challenge because she saw firsthand how difficult it was for Black- and women-owned businesses to get funding in Atlanta. She wanted to find a way to support them, which is why she co-founded Black Lady Business School with Tamay Shannon in 2021.

Black Lady Business School provides Black women entrepreneurs with business school knowledge, networking opportunities, workshops, events, and educational courses to grow their careers and businesses.

A champion for Black women entrepreneurs and small business owners, Smith is passionate about supporting traditionally marginalized groups, which is how she began her entrepreneurial journey. She built websites for small businesses as a side hustle.

That side hustle eventually turned into a full-time career when she founded Walton Birch LLC in 2019. Walton Birch LLC helps small businesses launch and grow their e-commerce business through website design, marketing strategy, and social media.

Smith has seen technology evolve over the years and knows that a strong digital footprint is paramount for a company’s e-commerce store to succeed. Its mission to make the e-commerce experience effortless for small business owners caught the attention of Shopify, making Walton Birch LLC a part of the Shopify Partner Program.

Tell us about the roots of your entrepreneurial journey.

I initially became an entrepreneur out of necessity in 2009. I wasn’t making enough money at my full-time internship, so I began building websites for local small businesses as a side hustle. After a few job promotions in my full-time career, I stopped doing the side hustle thing altogether and vowed never to live the side-hustle life again.

But after making the decision to leave corporate America and become a full-time entrepreneur, I came back to it in 2019. Getting my MBA in 2016 gave me new skills I could use in freelance consulting and the confidence to go into business for myself. Being in the MBA environment also introduced me to many successful entrepreneurs and changed my understanding of what entrepreneurship could be.

Tell us about your company.

I founded and work on two companies.

I founded Walton Birch in 2019. Walton Birch is an e-commerce consulting firm that helps entrepreneurs and small businesses launch and grow online stores. When it comes to websites and e-commerce stores, most entrepreneurs expect a Field of Dreams outcome (“if you build it, they will come”). Walton Birch helps store owners fill in the gaps between getting started in the business and successful outcomes.

In 2021, I co-founded the Black Lady Business School with Tamay Shannon, another local consultant. Black Lady Business School reduces barriers to revenue for minority women entrepreneurs by connecting them to resources and opportunities, educating them on essential business knowledge and skills, and creating networking opportunities with their colleagues at different stages in business.

How did you come up with your idea for your companies?

The idea for both businesses came from a desire to help small businesses succeed and bring more visibility to women and people of color in business. Walton Birch began as more of a marketing intelligence agency, but the Covid-19 pandemic revealed weaknesses in the support system for minority and women-owned businesses, so I went back to what I knew best — websites. Seeing some of the struggles business owners went through to get funding during the pandemic made me want to create a network of support for Black- and women-owned businesses in Atlanta.

What role did Scheller play in helping you become an entrepreneur and innovator?

Scheller introduced me to a new way to think about entrepreneurship. Before coming to Scheller, I thought entrepreneurship was all Silicon Valley bros wanting to strike it big discovering the next Microsoft or Apple. I didn’t see people who looked like me except in businesses that were labeled “hobbies” or “passion projects.” At Scheller, I saw women and people of color becoming entrepreneurial leaders. I learned about emerging technologies and trends impacting the workplace and saw how things like the gig economy expanded the definition of entrepreneurship. More importantly, I began seeing entrepreneurship as a way to lead innovation and social change by supporting the success of products and services targeted at historically excluded groups.

What’s your favorite thing about being an entrepreneur?

There are so many things! Setting my schedule and showing up as my authentic self are my top two, and they have made a huge, positive impact on my life. Also, having the opportunity to support other small businesses and create paid job opportunities for students and young professionals makes me proud.

Who are some of your inspirations and mentors?

I learned about entrepreneurship through my mom. She started her own business when I was in middle school, but I never appreciated how difficult it was for her to get her business off the ground. When I started my entrepreneurship journey, I already had cheerleaders in my corner who knew what I was up against and going through. My mom, dad, and wife have all been huge sources of inspiration and motivation throughout my journey. I am also eternally grateful and indebted to my SCORE mentor Christiana Datubo-Brown who fought to get and keep me on track throughout my first years in business. She helped me sign my first client, and she helped me successfully pivot during the pandemic.

Despite cleaner air, pollution disparities for people of color remain across the US

Sarah McQuate and Rebecca Gourley

UW News

UW researchers investigated disparities in exposure to six major air pollutants in 1990, 2000 and 2010 by comparing models of air pollution levels to census data.Joel Muniz/Unsplash

Air pollution is linked to multiple health conditions, including heart disease, cancer and cognitive decline. These effects vary depending on the source of air pollution. And not everyone is equally exposed to poor air quality.

University of Washington researchers investigated disparities in exposure to six major air pollutants in 1990, 2000 and 2010 by comparing models of air pollution levels to census data — including where people live, their racial/ethnic background and their income status.

The team showed that while overall pollutant concentrations have decreased since 1990, people of color are still more likely to be exposed to all six pollutants than white people, regardless of income level, across the continental United States.

The researchers published these results Dec. 15 in Environmental Health Perspectives.

“This is the first time anyone has looked comprehensively at all these main pollutants and watched how they vary over time and space,” said senior author Julian Marshall, UW professor of civil and environmental engineering. “This paper is a chance to recognize that, while every community is unique, there are some factors that play out over and over again consistently across our country. If we go state by state, there’s no place where there are no environmental justice concerns.”

Previously the researchers showed that Americans of color were exposed to higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), an outdoor pollutant from cars and trucks, in two census years: 2000 and 2010.

Now the team has expanded that research to look at five additional pollutants that are harmful to our health: carbon monoxide(CO), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter — both larger particles, such as dust or pollen (PM10), and smaller particles, such as molecules from vehicle exhaust (PM2.5). For all pollutants except for PM2.5, the researchers also expanded the census years studied to include 1990, in which the Clean Air Act was revised to tackle air pollution and emissions.

“There have been so many improvements,” said lead author Jiawen Liu, UW doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering. “But we still see these disparities persist, even after two decades.”

See related stories in The Washington Post and The Guardian.

To get air pollution data for each year, the researchers used models that incorporate pollution estimates from multiple sources, including data from satellites and Environmental Protection Agency monitoring stations. These levels were then mapped onto census demographic groups — including four race/ethnicity categories (Black, Asian, Hispanic and white) and income — to determine estimated exposure to each pollutant for each group across states in the contiguous U.S. and Washington, D.C.

For each location, the team calculated both absolute and relative disparities. For absolute disparities, the researchers subtracted pollution exposures for each group from the average exposure for the state. The team determined relative disparities by dividing the absolute disparity by the average exposure across the country.

“Relative disparities allow us to compare across pollutants,” said Liu, who is also a UW master’s student in biostatistics. “Each pollutant will have a general range of exposure, but when you divide by the average it gives you a basis for how big or small that exposure disparity is.”

Disparities varied from location to location, but for all years and pollutants, a racial/ethnic minority group had the highest level of exposure. This trend continued in 2010, despite cleaner air overall.One limitation to this approach, the researchers said, is that the pollution models reflect national averages, so they might not be as good at catching unusual pollution events in some communities.

“Essentially, our research is showing these disparities exist,” Liu said. “We’re trying to catch people’s attention and show what is happening now. We hope this information will motivate change.”

“We have to document this,” Marshall added. “This might be new to the scientific literature, but it is not new to the communities that are most impacted by air pollution. These communities have been saying this message for a long time. And it’s important to bring humility to our research.”

Other co-authors on this paper are Lara Clark, who completed this research as a UW civil and environmental engineering postdoc; Matthew Bechle, a UW postdoctoral researcher in civil and environmental engineering; Anjum Hajat, a UW associate professor of epidemiology, Lianne Sheppard, UW professor of environmental and occupational health sciences as well as biostatistics; Adam Szpiro, UW associate professor of biostatistics; Sun-Young Kim, associate professor at the National Cancer Center-Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy; and Allen Robinson, professor at Carnegie Mellon University. This publication was developed as part of the Center for Air, Climate, and Energy Solutions, which was supported under an Assistance Agreement awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

For more information, contact Marshall at jdmarsh@uw.edu and Liu at lhae15@uw.edu.

Grant number: R835873

Tagged with: College of Engineering, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Julian Marshall, population health

Black History Month: Doing the Work

February 03, 2022

Black History Month is a time to reflect on African Americans’ achievements and struggles. It’s also a time to highlight individuals who, today, are doing the work to make society more just and more inclusive.

This work is happening across Tech’s campus, by students and researchers who focus on race-related or antiracist technology and research, and by those who, simply by existing and thriving in spaces where they are underrepresented, are helping to bring about change.

Doing the Work introduces you to a few of the people who are making a difference in the Tech community and beyond.

Joe Bozeman

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering • College of Engineering

Joe F. Bozeman III Inspired by early life experiences growing up in the inner city of Dayton, Ohio, Joe Bozeman was acutely aware of how the inaccessibility to healthy food, lack of economic freedom, and lack of neighborhood safety were linked to race and class.

Bozeman, an assistant professor, firmly believes that addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation in a manner that centers equity in food-energy-water systems will help society avoid some of the worst economic, social, and political outcomes. Developing solutions requires cross-disciplinary collaboration among scientists and community stakeholders, led by people who fully understand the systemically marginalized.

Bozeman uses engineering approaches to develop equitable solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation –– focusing his efforts on food-energy-water, urbanization and buildings, and circularity.

Through his research, Bozeman hopes to affect the broader public and scientific communities in meaningful ways. His goal is to see more environmental measures enacted into local, state, and even federal law to shift human behavior toward more environmentally friendly lifestyles.

The Design Bloc

College of Design

The Design Bloc was founded in 2014, becoming a full-service design and consulting studio in 2017 with a mission to connect with the community beyond the boundaries of the firm. Using the “Think globally, act locally” approach, the Design Bloc connected on a project with the historically Black neighborhood of Hunter Hills in Atlanta.

Working with a local neighborhood provides challenges but also opportunities. To better understand and serve the community, the Design Bloc conducted 23 interviews, two walkarounds in the neighborhood, and multiple workshops.

“Truly getting to know who you’re designing for, their cultural values and beliefs, is both inspirational and challenging,” said Wayne Li, Design Bloc director and James L. Oliver Professor in the Colleges of Design and Engineering.

The final logo chosen for Hunter Hills, nicknamed “Heritage,” combines visual references to each core value of the neighborhood. The Design Bloc will continue working to strengthen the bonds between the community and Georgia Tech while also helping teach community members design thinking and how it can empower them.

Dorien Minor

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences • College of Sciences

Dorien Minor is a fourth-year student currently enrolled in the B.S./M.S. program in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences with a concentration in meteorology, and has academic interests in tropical cyclogenesis, numerical weather prediction, climate dynamics, and science communication. Minor is an active member of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and is in his second term as president of Georgia Tech’s AMS Student Chapter, StORM Club.

As part of the Georgia Tech WxChallenge team, he was the top first-year/sophomore forecaster overall in the 2019-20 season and placed among the top 10 junior/senior forecasters nationally during the 2020-21 season. Minor is also a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, the African American Student Union, and the Association for Environmental Engineers and Scientists.

For as long as he can remember, he has always wanted to be a meteorologist who used his resources, research, and reverence to develop an innovative approach to the study of the changing atmosphere. Minor wants to continue to make a difference not only in his community, but also in the world.

“In meteorological fields, where minority representation is not as widespread as in other sectors, it is important for youth and students from traditionally underrepresented groups to see individuals who look like them in their respective careers,” he says.

Minor plans on completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees while focusing on expanding his network. After that, he is eager to begin his career as a broadcast and forecast meteorologist in hopes of obtaining a position with The Weather Channel or The Today Show. Eventually he aspires to start his own meteorology and STEM-related broadcast network and teach students about the many, vast possibilities in STEM. You can follow @easfinesse on Instagram.

Manu Platt

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering • College of Engineering

While earning his Ph.D., Manu Platt was shocked to learn that children with sickle cell disease are at increased risk of stroke, with 11% having a stroke by age 16 and at the greatest risk between ages 2 and 5. Learning that this was happening with a disease that mostly affected Black people in the U.S. — one in 400 African Americans has sickle cell disease — inspired Platt to help find solutions.

Through research, he hopes to identify new targets that are elevated due to the inflammation and damage caused by sickle cell disease — tools that can be used to prevent damage to the cerebral vessels where strokes could occur. He and Professor Ed Botchwey are also studying these mechanisms in the bones, as people with sickle cell disease are often subject to hip replacement surgeries by their late teens.

Platt believes all people living with sickle cell disease need access to better healthcare and options to improve their quality and length of life.

In addition to his research, Platt runs Project ENGAGES, which brings in students from Atlanta public high schools and pays them to work in Georgia Tech labs while training them to do cutting-edge research.

He also runs GT-ESTEEMED, an NIH funded program for first- and second-year students to prepare them to pursue doctorates in STEM fields. Both programs seek to change the face of what scientists and engineers look like and to open these career paths to everyone.

With the help of Lakeita Servance, his partner with both programs, Platt’s goal is to inspire a whole new generation of young Black and brown scientists and engineers who do not yet know the power and potential they have.

“It’s important for everyone to remember that diversity work is not charity work,” he says. “There are incredible solutions hiding out in people who were just not given the opportunity to be at the table to answer those questions.”

Assata Quinichett

School of Computer Science • College of Computing

Computer science summer programs and high school courses inspired Assata Quinichett’s love of problem solving.

Now a third-year computer science major at Tech, Quinichett is the current co-president of Minorities @ the College of Computing (M@CC), an organization that strives to create a space where underrepresented people can feel comfortable and supported in their academic and professional pursuits in computer science. Traditionally, computer science is an overwhelmingly white male field, and M@CC provides targeted resources for academic and career development, as well as social support for students.

In her time studying computer science, Quinichett has routinely felt the isolation of being one of a small number of Black women in classes and at work. She decided to take a leadership role in M@CC so she could create spaces that alleviate the feeling of isolation. She credits M@CC for helping her professional, academic, and social development at Georgia Tech.

Quinichett’s long-term goal is to be a CEO for an influential technology company, aspiring to leverage the position and influence to increase the number of women and people of color in computer science.

Natasha Reed

Organizational Behavior • Scheller College of Business

With a deep interest in race, gender, and organizational justice, Ph.D. candidate Natasha Reed has devoted her academic efforts to studying diversity, inclusion, and inequities and their root causes.

She recognizes that while many organizations have initiatives in place to tackle inequality, imbalances still persist. Through her research, Reed hopes to illuminate issues of inequities within organizations and make an impact on eliminating them.

“If I can have any part in balancing the scales of equity in an individual’s life, then my research will be successful,” Reed says.

In her teaching, Reed aspires to motivate students from nontraditional backgrounds to achieve greater success –– believing that young people should know their circumstances in life do not have to define who they are as individuals.

Nashlie Sephus

School of Electrical and Computer Engineering • College of Engineering

Growing up in Jackson, Mississippi, with her mom, sister, and grandmother, Nashlie Sephus was always encouraged to explore and learn how things work. After attending engineering camp for girls during the summer after eighth grade, Sephus was hooked, especially on computer engineering.

She earned both a master’s and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Georgia Tech, and currently works as an AI tech evangelist at Amazon. Sephus credits Tech for preparing her with the academic rigor of a top program.

After graduating, she created The Bean Path, an organization that brings STEAM education and skills to people from underrepresented communities. By introducing students to tech tools, she seeks to foster new generations and communities of diverse innovators.

In addition to her work at Amazon and The Bean Path, Sephus also co-founded KITT Labs –– a space for Black and brown engineers and scientists to feel “at home” and to collaborate and find their place in Atlanta’s tech ecosystem. As an engineer, Sephus constantly reflects on how to improve and raise the bar, crediting much of her success to her team and support systems.

Lawrence Williams

School of Computer Science • College of Computing

Growing up with a fascination about websites and applications from using his family’s desktop computer, Lawrence Williams knew that majoring in computer science was the best way to learn about a field that had always interested him.

He joined Minorities @ the College of Computing (M@CC) as a first-year student and currently serves as co-president. The group provides a space where underrepresented students can find resources and opportunities for career development and a peer support network.

Williams is still in the process of choosing his next career step, but hopes to settle in a place where he can express his creativity, advocate for accessible technology, and create growth opportunities for people of color in the tech world.

Joycelyn Wilson

School of Literature, Media, and Communication • Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts

Focusing on African American expressive traditions, hip hop culture, and social justice STEM education, Joycelyn Wilson’s research and teaching encourage people to engage with the music, the art, and the overall innovation that drives the human experience, and to elevate their consciousness in the process.

She believes that her work is essential in providing information and experiences to students that enhance their capacities to make, think, and problem solve in ways that promote inclusivity and equity.

Wilson, who began her career as a high school algebra teacher, now feels humbled to witness growth in students from different backgrounds, and she credits the inclusive nature of hip hop culture for creating these pedagogical experiences.

She hopes to continue producing research and scholarship that expands the minds of students through publishing, teaching, programmatic support, outreach, and service.

Read more stories that celebrate Black History Month.

CEE Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

CEE DEI Committee

Category: News

Joe Bozeman: A Framework for Equity in Energy and Environmental Engineering

What Comes Next

Another Step in the Process

New Strategic Plan for DEI

New Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Provides Roadmap to a More Inclusive Georgia Tech

With the launch of its first ever strategic plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Georgia Tech is carving a path towards a more inclusive campus community.

Celebrating Women from Georgia Tech – Call For Suggestions

National Engineers Week: Equity-Centered Engineering (from Dean Beyah)

Meet the Black Founders of Scheller: Entrepreneur Kathryn Smith Drives Progress for Black- and Women-Owned Businesses

Meet the Black Founders of Scheller: Entrepreneur Kathryn Smith Drives Progress for Black- and Women-Owned Businesses

Despite cleaner air, pollution disparities for people of color remain across the US

Despite cleaner air, pollution disparities for people of color remain across the US

Black History Month: Doing the Work

Joe Bozeman

The Design Bloc

Dorien Minor

Manu Platt

Assata Quinichett

Natasha Reed

Nashlie Sephus

Lawrence Williams

Joycelyn Wilson

Georgia Institute of Technology

Subscribe By Email